THE procession of star players pleading with the crowd to respect the anthems was doomed to failure.

Welsh players - and rappers from Goldie Lookin' Chain - appeared on the Millennium Stadium's screens before kick-off, begging the 70,000 fans not to boo.

But God Save the Queen was barely audible above the disapproving din on Saturday afternoon.

Yesterday First Minister Rhodri Morgan criticised the barrage of jeers, whistles and horns that met the English (and British) national anthem.

At rugby matches fans "sit back and enjoy both the national anthems," he said.

"But not at football, and it will take a long time to change that."

He said he was surprised to hear the 7,000 English fans sing more loudly and more frequently than 63,000 Welsh fans.

"While most football supporters have club chants that they all do, they don't have any chants to sing at Wales football matches.

"It's a sad fact of life that there isn't an all-Wales football culture."

One Welsh player, as reported by a London tabloid on Saturday, wanted Wales fans to "turn Sven's men to jelly with a deafening wall of hate".

Whether or not he uttered those exact words, he got what he wished for.

Many Welsh fans, more used to watching rugby internationals at the stadium or football friendlies, were shocked by the intimidating atmosphere.

Many had been at the rugby league cup final played a week earlier in a friendly atmosphere which could not have been more of a contrast.

Yesterday English fans registered their disgust online at the way they were greeted at Cardiff.

Supporters' message boards bemoaned the lack of respect they were accorded in the stadium.

In return, the slice of white-shirted fans at the one end of the stadium did their best to drown out Hen Wlad fy Nhadau.

Wales' players stepped onto the pitch to the sight of dozens of inflatable sheep being thrown into the air at the English end.

Police insisted ill-feeling between fans at the match was largely confined to shouting.

Fights broke out around the stadium after England scored the game's only goal, but no serious injuries were reported.

Some English fans had managed to conceal their nationality to take seats among the Welsh. They could not conceal their glee however, when Joe Cole put their team ahead.

The response from some of Wales' fans required the attention of the police.

Cardiff's police chief said 12 people were ejected from the stadium but no arrests were made. There were no criminal complaints made about injuries, said Chief Supt Bob Evans, who had previously promised to "stamp very hard on hooligans".

"We always had concerns in the build up to the game that despite the efforts of the stadium and the ticket agencies that some rogue tickets may have got into the hands of English supporters in the Welsh area," he said.

England fans were corralled into a "fans' village" in Cardiff's Cooper's Field before the match.

Chief Supt Evans said the tactic would be used again for big football internationals - though with more bars next time as there were complaints of long queues.

Ex-Wales footballer Dean Saunders said of the booing, "It's disappointing really. You respect the other team's anthem and its just starting to creep into football now.

"It does something to the game - a bit of respect - and somehow we have got to get back to it. It used to be that if one or two started the others would tell them to shut up, but now it seems the majority are booing."

He said Welsh players could find it embarrassing if their fans booed the opposition anthem.

But Matthew Redd, a Wales fan from Cardiff who was at the stadium, said, "The anthem is tricky for us because it's meant to be the British national anthem and it makes England synonymous with Britain - and I have a problem with that.

"It's part of football these days, it happens all the time.

"At the last game exactly the same thing happened to the Welsh national anthem up in Manchester."